In The Morning
by a-silver-story
Summary: Just a sickeningly fluffy morning for Jack and Ianto. Short, and 'sweet' to the point of feeling ill from too much candy floss and jelly hearts. Enjoy!


**You honestly think this would happen if the true owners of Torchwood were involved? HA! Ye of too much faith! Characters and settings belong to the BBC. The scenario will only ever exist in our heads.**

Ianto was doing that snuffly-sleepy-snuggle-y thing again. He was cuddled up close to Jack, their legs entwined, a hand on his chest and face hidden in the crook of his neck. Jack lay awake, stroking his hair, watching the clock to make sure they didn't oversleep. Ianto hated waking up to the alarm, so Jack had only a few short hours ago decided to make Ianto Waking his own special task on the nights he stayed. These days, that was pretty much every night, but he was sure he could handle the responsibility.

He squirmed as Ianto moved his head, and long lashes tickled at the sensitive skin of Jack's neck. Comfortable again, he covered the hand on his chest with his own and gave it a gentle squeeze, turning awkwardly to kiss any part of Ianto's head that he could reach first. Ianto sighed, and Jack smiled.

He glanced up at the clock and felt a little disappointed. It was time to wake him up, and Jack just didn't want to. He liked this peace, and he liked Ianto sleeping, and he liked Ianto cuddling. Ianto would say that they didn't cuddle, they hugged or held each other. 'Cuddling' was for girls - as was snuggling, hand-holding and 'making love'. Jack took delight in pointing out times when they had done all three - though only after they'd done them. He wanted them to last during the 'doing' stage.

Gently, Jack nudged Ianto's shoulder and nibbled at his fingers. "Wakey, wakey," he sighed, and two dark, bleary, blue eyes slowly opened to look up at him.

"I'm not getting up until the alarm goes off," mumbled Ianto, turning onto his other side and pulling at Jack to spoon into his back. That was something else Jack and Ianto apparently didn't do: spoon. They 'lay together'. Spooning was for also girls.

"I am the alarm. I switched it off so that you didn't have to wake up to that god-awful siren."

The blue eyes forced themselves open again, reading the display on the digital clock. "Mmmfaistimemfff," Ianto agreed. Slowly he pushed back the covers and forced himself to swing his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up. He rubbed his face as Jack propped himself up on one arm behind him and snaked another around his waist, chin resting on a shoulder.

"Shower?" he asked suggestively.

"I'm achey," Ianto complained, stretching.

"Bath?"

Ianto frowned at him blearily. "Won't we be late? You know what you're like with baths."

"You're only late if the boss says you are," Jack told him authoritatively, kissing his shoulder.

"Mmm. Bath sounds good ...."

Jack left Ianto in bed to go and run the water, knowing he'd just curl up and try to sleep again. When the tub was full and the bubbles plenty, he went back through to the bedroom to try and drag Ianto from his sheets again. "C'mon, Sleepy," he coaxed, pulling at his hands.

Eventually Ianto followed him autonomously to the bathroom, and groggily undressed as Jack lowered himself into the water.

"Sure, leave me the plug-end," he grumbled.

"I actually intended for you to sit in between my legs," Jack explained, lifting up the natural sponge and a bottle of soap.

"Good plan," nodded Ianto, and carefully climbed in, sitting back and tilting his head over Jack's shoulder as his back pressed into smooth chest. "Mmm this is nice," he said lazily as Jack's arms wrapped around him to squeeze some soap onto the sponge.

"Y'know ..." Jack observed as he began to gently and thoroughly wash him. "... some might think that bathing together is for girls ...."

Ianto snorted. "We're not bathing together. We're having a bath together."

"Same thing ...."

"Totally different," Ianto firmly assured him.

"If you say so," smiled Jack, dipping the sponge in the water and rinsing the soap from Ianto's chest before coaxing him to lift his legs to wash under and between his thighs. Thoroughly.

"Don't have time, Jack," Ianto warned him. "even if you are the boss."

"Fine ... fine ...." he grumbled good-naturedly.

Confident Ianto's body was clean, he began squirting shampoo out into his palm then massaging it through Ianto's hair. "Your hair's getting long," he observed, running his fingers through it.

"I've been meaning to get it cut," sighed Ianto. "I've had to cancel two appointments already."

"Don't take too much off," Jack advised. "I like it longer. Something to hold on to."

"You can style it then," grumbled Ianto. "In a couple of weeks time I'll end up looking like Jedward if I'm not careful."

"Ouch."

"Exactly."

"Why not just ... style it differently?"

"No matter what I do, you're going to muss it. I want something simple that I can easily re-style without looking in the mirror."

Jack gave a small laugh. "I like mussing your hair."

"I like the circumstances that prelude the mussing of my hair."

"Mm ... me too ... head back," he instructed, using water from the sink and a measuring jug to rinse the thoroughly-massaged shampoo from Ianto's hair.

Jack washed his own, batting away Ianto's hands and letting him doze in the water, leaning back on him and making sure he didn't slide under.

"Out we get," Jack eventually had to say, and he reached for one of the bath sheets and wrapped it around Ianto's shoulders and planted a kiss on his forehead, sending him out to the bedroom. He towelled himself, pulled the plug in the bath and tidied up the shampoo and bath soap. He returned to the bedroom to find that Ianto had simply burrowed back into the bed again, his wet hair dampening the pillows and the bath sheet draped loosely over his back and buttocks.

"Oi!" Jack said sharply, tugging the towel and making Ianto curl up. "C'mon, Mr. Jones. You need to get dry and get dressed."

"Mmmf," complained Ianto, then yelped as hands hooked under his underarms and tugged him bodily up, dragging him from his bed. "No fair!"

"Pick a suit, and lets get a move on," laughed Jack as evil looks were thrown his way. He opened his half of the wardrobe and pulled out a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt, dark braces and his usual gray slacks. He got socks and underwear from his half of the drawer as Ianto started rummaging, naked, through his part of the wardrobe.

"Pinstripes?" Ianto suggested, and Jack nodded with a grin. "Three piece or two piece?"

"Three."

"Mm. Okay. Purple shirt?"

"Pink. Hot pink. Hawt hot pink."

Ianto gave a small laugh. "Okay. I got a tie that matches that."

Finally dressed, Ianto was starting to feel more awake. He teased his hair into something he described as 'vaguely presentable' and slipped on his coat. "Don't wanna go to work," he sighed.

"The second you get there, you'll not want to be anywhere else."

"I'd rather be in bed," he muttered, buttoning up his coat. Jack already had his on, waiting for Ianto to get ready to leave.

It was freezing cold outside, and as they walked, Jack slipped his arm under Ianto's and clasped his hand in his pocket to try and make them warmer. Ianto put the heating in the SUV on as high as he could, despite Jack warning him he'd get chilblains, and relaxed back into his seat.

The traffic was smooth and in less than fifteen minutes they were pulling into the Torchwood garage.

"Well ... I'm at work," announced Ianto. "and I'd still rather be in bed."

Jack gave a small laugh. "C'mon. Let's get today over and done with."

Ianto nodded and they both climbed out of the car, making their way towards the main area of the hub.

"You're late!" Owen snapped irritably. "I need caffeine! And Tosh has been talking techno-babble for the past fifteen minutes!"

"It wasn't 'techno-babble'," Toshiko insisted. "I was telling him a rough guess of how to work the coffee machine! Why were you late, Ianto?" she asked, pleading in her tone.

Ianto rolled his eyes, and glanced over at Jack. They shared a brief moment, and Jack nodded minutely.

"Have you any idea how hard it is to get Jack up in the morning?" he huffed, unbuttoning his coat and making his way over to the coffee machine. "Sometimes I think I might just leave him there!"


End file.
